Company Name
Peak Rock Capital + Berner Food & Beverage
Search Job Title
Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSCO)
Client Profile
Berner Food & Beverage is a private equity–backed specialty food and beverage manufacturer producing dairy-based and shelf-stable products for leading consumer packaged goods brands, emerging brands, and private label retailers. The company operates a large-scale manufacturing facility in northern Illinois and has built a reputation as a trusted co-manufacturing partner across categories such as ready-to-drink coffee, protein beverages, dips, sauces, and snack products.
With more than 75 years of operating history, Berner has evolved into a high-capacity contract manufacturing platform serving blue-chip customers across North America. Recent capital investment from private equity ownership positioned the company for accelerated growth, particularly in high-growth beverage categories such as dairy protein drinks and ready-to-drink coffee. As production volumes expanded and new product lines scaled rapidly, leadership recognized the need to modernize and professionalize the supply chain organization to support continued growth and operational efficiency.
Role Objectives & Challenges
The Chief Supply Chain Officer role was created as a new executive position reporting directly to the CEO with responsibility for leading end-to-end supply chain operations, including procurement, planning, logistics, inventory management, warehousing, and customer fulfillment. The mandate was to unify and modernize these functions under a single strategic leader capable of building scalable systems, processes, and teams to support continued growth.
At the time of the search, production growth was beginning to outpace the capacity and maturity of the supply chain organization, creating friction that threatened to constrain revenue potential. The business had invested heavily in manufacturing capabilities and was entering a rapid expansion phase, particularly in the dairy protein beverage segment. Leadership needed a supply chain leader who could strengthen the operational backbone of the company and ensure the organization could scale efficiently alongside production.
Several operational challenges required immediate attention. Supply chain functions were dispersed across different parts of the organization, with logistics and warehousing responsibilities shared with operations and a large offsite warehouse managed by a third-party logistics provider. Leadership needed someone who could centralize these activities, improve coordination, and hold logistics partners accountable through standardized metrics and service expectations.
Technology and systems complexity also presented an opportunity for improvement. The organization relied on multiple systems supporting ERP, planning, and warehouse operations, and leadership wanted a senior executive who could evaluate the existing technology stack, simplify where appropriate, and deploy tools that improved visibility, forecasting accuracy, and operational performance.
Beyond systems and structure, the company needed a leader capable of professionalizing the supply chain organization through refreshed KPIs, improved S&OP processes, stronger inventory management, and a disciplined continuous improvement mindset. The role required someone who could balance strategic leadership with a hands-on operational style, someone comfortable working at the executive level while also spending time on the plant floor engaging directly with operations teams.
The profile itself was challenging to fill. The company ideally wanted a candidate with dairy or adjacent food manufacturing experience, strong operational credibility in plant environments, familiarity with private equity expectations, and experience implementing world-class supply chain processes learned in larger organizations while successfully applying them in more entrepreneurial environments.
Our Approach to Solve the Search
The search required careful geographic targeting due to the company’s location in Dakota, Illinois, a rural manufacturing hub where on-site leadership was essential. The role required frequent presence at the plant, making relocation or a heavy commute necessary. As a result, sourcing initially focused on the greater Chicago region and broader Midwestern dairy and food manufacturing markets.
The first wave of candidates came from Chicago-area food and beverage manufacturers, particularly organizations involved in dairy processing, beverage production, and contract manufacturing. This approach leveraged a strong regional talent pool with experience in high-volume food manufacturing and complex supply chains serving major CPG brands.
To further expand the candidate pool, the search broadened to neighboring states including Wisconsin, Illinois, and other Midwest dairy regions where executives might be willing to relocate or commute. Target companies included dairy processors, food manufacturers, beverage producers, and contract manufacturing platforms where candidates had direct exposure to the operational realities of high-speed production environments.
Another layer of complexity involved balancing strategic leadership capability with deep operational credibility. The ideal candidate needed to bring the perspective of a large-company supply chain leader familiar with world-class processes while also demonstrating the grit and practicality required to operate effectively in a plant-driven manufacturing environment.
Throughout the search, close collaboration occurred with the CEO and private equity leadership team to ensure alignment on candidate profile, leadership style, and long-term value creation objectives.
The Hire & Results
The search was successfully completed in approximately three months through a highly targeted regional approach. The selected candidate brought recent dairy industry experience and a strong background in end-to-end supply chain leadership across planning, logistics, procurement, and operations.
Importantly, the executive was located within commuting distance of the facility, eliminating the relocation barrier that had complicated earlier candidate discussions. The individual demonstrated the operational toughness and plant-level engagement style the client valued, bringing a hands-on leadership approach well suited to the realities of the manufacturing environment.
While many candidates leaned heavily toward strategic leadership, the selected executive balanced strategic capability with the practical mindset needed to drive improvements in day-to-day operations. This included strengthening procurement practices, refining S&OP processes, improving inventory and logistics performance, and building greater accountability across the supply chain organization.
The hire also reflected a consultative approach to structuring the role itself. As the search progressed, leadership aligned around a version of the CSCO role that emphasized operational execution and direct engagement with the plant and logistics network rather than purely high-level strategy.
Working closely with the CEO and private equity leadership partners, the successful placement provided Berner with a supply chain leader capable of strengthening operational performance, improving efficiency across facilities and logistics partners, and positioning the company for continued growth and potential future strategic transactions.
